Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!americast.com!americast.com!americast-post Newsgroups: americast.twt.metro From: americast-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: americast-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: White House race lured most voters Date: Wed, 4 Nov 92 16:16:30 EST Message-ID: \SE B;METROPOLITAN;ELECTIONS '92 \HD White House race lured most voters \BY Betsy Pisik \CR THE WASHINGTON TIMES The line snaked down the steps and disappeared around the corner of the City Council building in Alexandria. Although dressed for work, the 44-year-old woman was in no hurry to push ahead to the ballot box. "I have election campaign burn-out," she said wearily. "I just want this country to elect one of these candidates so we can get on with it." Across the area yesterday, voters lined up in what elections officials called heavy turnout. Although the mood was generally as light and calm as the weather, local issues - including abortion rights, liquor sales and the death penalty - weighed heavily on voters' minds. But it was the presidential race that seemed to lure most people into the voting booths. "I'm voting for Bill Clinton," said Melissa, a sophomore at American University. Asked for her position on the death-penalty referendum, the District resident said: "I really don't know. I'm sort of a Clinton fan. I don't know much about the other things." At Houston-Jefferson Elementary School near Old Town Alexandria, voters were unable to fake their civic commitment. "Virginia bought those [voting] machines three or four years ago, and most people don't know how to work them," said Glenn LeMunyon, a supporter of President Bush. "I've met a lot of people who haven't voted since '88." "To be honest, I didn't necessarily think any of them would do the best job, but I tried to consider their records and what they did in the past," said Arlington resident Shama Sawant, 23, who ultimately voted to re-elect the president. "Truthfully. . . I hate George Bush. There's no way I was going to vote for George Bush," said North Frederick resident Karen Sorensen, 36, a mother of three. "I kind of like [Ross] Perot, but he's sort of scary - I guess because he has no experience. I guess I felt safest with Clinton." "I want to declare my vote - I voted for [Ross] Perot," said Carole Mathes, a Bowie real estate agent. "I feel it's time for a change. It was really a vote against Bush and against Clinton." "This is the first time I've voted for candidates and issues instead of against," said Ruby A. Rubens, special assistant to Montgomery County Executive Neal Potter and a volunteer with the Democratic campaign in that county. "I'm just not sure yet," giggled Hyattsville's Dorothy Sidor, an elegant retiree who was embarrassed about her lack of commitment to a presidential candidate as she prepared to enter the voting booth. "I'm waiting for that flash of light." Although many area residents were just as keyed up about local hot-button issues, such as the death penalty, few were eager to talk about them. "Ah, I'd rather not discuss that," said one District man, admitting he had strong opinions about the death-penalty referendum. "A lot of my friends have been talking about it," said Laurinda Taylor, a government employee from Southeast who voted in favor of capital punishment. "If we had the death penalty, some of these killers would think before they did it. Most people doing the killing are black, and some people feel that it's another way to to get rid of blacks. I don't," said Miss Taylor, who is black. "I feel that we've come a long way and justice will be served." "You can't go killing people," said Carl, a muscular laborer who looked at his watch as the line inched slowly forward at St. Timothy's Episcopal Church in Southeast. The Hillcrest resident, who has voted in every election since the District won that right in 1968, said capital punishment would lower society to the level of "the common killer with a gun." "No difference," he said. "And that's not for me." Voters surveyed at the Marie Reed Learning Center on 18th Street in Adams Morgan were almost unanimous in saying they voted for Mr. Clinton and against the death penalty. While many said they oppose capital punishment in principle, some said they voted against the measure because it was placed on the ballot by federal decree. "I believe in the death penalty, but I don't believe Congress has the right to dictate it to the District of Columbia," said Wayne Goudreault, 42, a real estate manager. Mike Gruber, 36, a warehouse worker at an ice cream company, said the "total backslide of the economy" was his main reason for voting for Mr. Clinton at Mill Creek Towne Elementary School in Derwood. "Clinton has the oomph to put something behind what he says," said Mr. Gruber, who made up his mind before the debates. "He's more or less for the people instead of for money." Mr. Gruber, dressed in shorts and T-shirt for yesterday's sunny weather, said he also came out to vote for Question 6 on the Maryland ballot. "A woman should have the right to decide on her body," he said. Question 6, hotly contested by pro-life voters, was designed by pro-choice legislators to guarantee abortion rights in Maryland despite future Supreme Court action. "Almost everyone I know is voting for Question 6," said community activist Carol Wayman, 26, of Hyattsville. In upper Montgomery County, residents of Damascus, the county's last "dry" town, were torn yesterday over Question C, which would allow the sale of alcohol in stores and restaurants. Damascus has been dry for more than 100 years, depite previous referendums in 1976 and 1981. "I've heard other little towns say once you get a liquor store, it becomes the high school hangout," said a concerned Sharon Ford on her way into the voting booth. But she expressed concern for the town's restaurant owners who, she said, keep opening and then closing because they can't get a liquor license. Saeed Javadpour, owner of the town's only Italian restaurant, Little Italy, concurred. The ban, he said, "does a lot" to hinder the local economy. * Contributing to this report were staff writers David Field, Kent Gibbons, Laurie Kellman, Ken McIntyre, Merrie Morris, Siobhan McDonough, Tony Munroe, Matt Neufeld, Karen Riley and Charmaine Roberts. This article is copyright 1992 The Washington Times. 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